Heretofore, many electronic postal scales have been designed to compute the postage of weighed articles, taking into account such factors as destination, zone, class, insurance, etc. Such scales are shown in the patents to:
R. f. salava, U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,297, Issued: Jan. 18, 1972; and PA1 F. c. rock, U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,221, Issued: Apr. 20, 1976.
One of the major problems with electronic scales is caused by frequent postal rate changes, which require a redesign and/or change of electronic componentry.
In recent years, these changes have become so frequent (once a month), that a need has arisen for a way to modify these scales both quickly and easily. The problem is not easily overcome, because most of the scales needing modification are in the hands of private users, who cannot be bothered to make the necessary adjustments. Neither is it economically feasible to maintain a servicing organization to make the necessary adjustment, because the changes are too frequent. Clearly, the only solution is for the scale to be designed in such a manner, that the required adjustments can be easily made by unskilled presonnel. In this way, the users will have no objection to purchasing these scales, because future use will not be marred by the burdensome chore of difficult maintanence.
The invention addresses itself to the aforementioned problem. The invention provides a postal scale design which is easily and quickly modifiable by unskilled personnel, in response to changes necessitated by frequent rate changes.